All posts tagged: NGOs

Trump, Iran both share false information about eight women facing execution – Truth or Fake

Trump, Iran both share false information about eight women facing execution – Truth or Fake

Published by Sam Flores

On Wednesday, Donald Trump claimed that out of respect for him, Iran had agreed to spare the lives of eight young Iranian women facing execution. But he was quickly struck with accusations that the images of the women were AI-generated. Iran itself gave conflicting information, both mocking the AI claims but also declaring that none of the women faced confirmed death sentences. The reality – as confirmed by two NGOs – is that all parties shared incorrect information.  The US president claimed that the Iranian government agreed to release eight young women facing the death penalty, after being arrested during protests that swept Iran in December and January. His announcement came a day after he’d reposted a photomontage of the women – alongside a claim they faced hanging – as he urged Tehran to release them as a gesture of goodwill ahead of potential peace negotiations. Almost immediately, internet users claimed that the women in the photo did not exist, and that the images were AI-generated. Official Iranian embassy accounts on social media were quick to jump on board with these claims, with many …

Euroskeptic think tanks on the rise as Brussels slashes funding for pro-EU groups – POLITICO

Euroskeptic think tanks on the rise as Brussels slashes funding for pro-EU groups – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“There was little concern from the European Commission or affiliated organizations and think tanks when progressive NGOs in Europe received substantial support from the United States (including via USAID and other programs),” he said. “Only now, when funding may reach their political opponents, is it being framed as ‘foreign interference.’” Broader cuts Zuleeg, the EPC chief, said the non-renewal of the CERV money, which amounts to around €250,000 per year, would mean the organization cuts back on work related to topics such as democracy and citizens’ participation. And while he made a distinction between think tanks, which organize events or commission research, and NGOs, which do the same but tend to advocate for a specific cause, Zuleeg said that the CERV grant cut “does also reflect in part, the controversy around funding going to advocacy organizations.” Flags from the 27 countries of the EU in front of the European Parliament in Brussels in April 2025. | Thierry Monasse/Getty Images That’s a reference to increased scrutiny from the same right-wing groups, as well as conservative politicians, …

Two dead, dozens missing after migrant boat capsizes in Mediterranean

Two dead, dozens missing after migrant boat capsizes in Mediterranean

Published by Sam Flores

Dozens of people are missing after a migrant boat capsized in the central Mediterranean, the NGOs Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch said Sunday on social media. Two people died and 32 were rescued from the boat, which had left Libya on Saturday afternoon with around 105 people on board, according to Mediterranea Saving Humans. “Tragic Easter shipwreck. 32 survivors, two bodies recovered and more than 70 people missing,” the NGO wrote on X, adding that the boat capsized in a search-and-rescue zone handled by Libyan authorities. Sea-Watch said two commercial ships saved the survivors and took them to the Italian island of Lampedusa. To display this content from X (Twitter), you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices An aerial video it posted showed two men clinging to the hull of the capsized vessel, and the approach of one of the commercial ships. Mediterranea Saving Humans said the accident was “the consequence of policies by European governments that refuse to open safe and legal pathways” for migrants. Read moreDozens of migrants …

Eurovision for trees reaches its zenith. Will Poland win again? – POLITICO

Eurovision for trees reaches its zenith. Will Poland win again? – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The organizers of the European Tree of the Year contest, a relatively niche event on the Brussels social calendar, have been grappling with these questions for years. The competition, which started in 2002 as a national event in Czechia before expanding to Europe in 2011, has over the years crowned an Estonian oak that stood in the middle of a football pitch; a lone pine that survived a flood in a Czech village; and a 500-year-old Romanian lime tree that is part of local folk legend. The contest’s last four winners, however, all grew in Poland. “From the beginning, the competition was not about the beauty of the trees, but about the stories and the communities. [But] the last four years, it became difficult because it turned into a competition between nations,” said Petr Skřivánek, who runs the event on behalf of the Environmental Partnership Association, a Czech NGO. Poland’s recent success is largely due to Make Life Harder, the country’s most popular Instagram meme account, which has been promoting the contest to its 1.7 …

Israel’s Supreme Court allows aid groups facing govt ban to keep working in Gaza

Israel’s Supreme Court allows aid groups facing govt ban to keep working in Gaza

Published by Sam Flores

Israel’s Supreme Court decided in a ruling published Friday that a government ban on 37 foreign NGOs working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank will be frozen until it reaches a final decision. “Without taking any position, a temporary interim order is hereby issued,” the court said in a ruling responding to a petition from more than a dozen NGOs, seeking to reverse the ban after Israel’s government revoked their status in Israel. The decision theoretically allows the NGOs to continue working in Gaza and the West Bank until the court issues a final ruling, though aid groups expressed uncertainty as to how the freeze would be implemented. Read moreAid groups petition Israel’s top court to halt ban on Gaza, West Bank ops The organisations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE were notified on December 30, 2025 that their Israeli registrations had expired and that they had 60 days to renew them by providing lists of their Palestinian staff. If they failed to do so, they would have …

One in three Germans welcome killer robots, new poll says – POLITICO

One in three Germans welcome killer robots, new poll says – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The results suggest a cultural shift, as the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz no longer explicitly excludes lethal decisions without human checks. It also puts Germany in a different category than some of its allies: In the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and France, 26 percent of respondents said militaries could rely on AI rather than human decision — or roughly a quarter of people. Forty-seven percent of German respondents still favored human involvement in the use of weapons, even if they are slower than AI. But that figure was 10 percentage points lower than responses to the same question in the U.K., eight points lower than in the U.S. and Canada, and five percentage points lower than in France.  Almost half of respondents in Germany (46 percent) said cybersecurity and artificial intelligence capabilities mattered as much as traditional military power to win wars. The online survey, conducted for POLITICO by the independent London-based polling company Public First, comes as political leaders, security chiefs and industry officials gather in Germany for the Munich Security Conference. Part …

French NGOs mobilize to remove foxes from national list of pests

French NGOs mobilize to remove foxes from national list of pests

Published by Sam Flores

A fox in a harvested wheat field near Chinon (Indre-et-Loire), July 20, 2020. GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP Should the red fox remain on the list of “species likely to cause damage” (ESOD)? Seven wildlife protection groups have reignited the debate by publishing a petition on the Assemblée Nationale website calling for the “immediate removal” of the wild canid from the list and an end to what they describe as an “unjustified massacre.” More than 25,000 people had signed the petition as of Monday, February 2, while a new government decree setting the ESOD species list for the next three years is expected to be published this summer. The inclusion of the fox on this list has long been criticized by animal protection groups. Between 400,000 and one million individuals are reportedly killed each year, mostly through hunting. “The fox is a species of major ecological importance,” said Mickaël Paul, co-president of Large Predator Center. “We are seizing the right moment to put pressure on the state and rally citizens before the decree is published.” The National Hunting …

EU Commission launches probe into Slovakia over Fico’s rule-of-law crackdown – POLITICO

EU Commission launches probe into Slovakia over Fico’s rule-of-law crackdown – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Brussels’ move comes amid strong pressure from lawmakers and NGOs to act against Fico’s crackdown against independent institutions and suspected fraud involving EU farm funds. Zuzana Dlugošová, the head of the whistleblower protection office, said that she had repeatedly warned Slovak officials that the plans were in contradiction with EU law. “If expert feedback had been taken into account, Slovakia could have avoided EU infringement proceedings. Still, we believe that this process itself can help foster a more professional and substantive debate on how whistleblower protection should be properly set up in Slovakia,” Dlugošová said. Slovakia’s permanent representation in Brussels and interior ministry did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s requests for comment. Brussels has given Bratislava one month to respond to its queries before taking further action — which could potentially include cutting EU payouts to Slovakia after a multi-layered process. Since returning to power in 2023 for a fourth term, Fico’s Smer party has taken steps to dismantle anti-corruption institutions, including abolishing the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which handled high-profile corruption cases, and disbanding NAKA, an elite police …

“Will Bring Country To Halt”: Far-Left NGOs Prepare To Mobilize Children As ‘Ice Out’ Protesters

“Will Bring Country To Halt”: Far-Left NGOs Prepare To Mobilize Children As ‘Ice Out’ Protesters

Published by Jenni Sidey

A network of far-left nonprofits linked to Marxist financier Neville Roy Singham is leveraging Minnesota-based Black and Somali student organizations to mobilize child protesters in a planned “ICE Out of Everywhere” action on Friday, assessed as a coordinated general strike intended to inflict economic disruption amid widespread protests following multiple fatal shootings of protesters by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. “We support the call from Minnesota-based Black and Somali student organizations — on Friday, January 30, join the national day of action to say ICE OUT OF EVERYWHERE!” Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) wrote on X. PSL continued: Last Friday, people from all walks of life came together in the Twin Cities and all across Minnesota had a day of “no work, no school, no shopping” and shut it down. It captured the imagination of the whole country. They’ve shown the way for all of us — to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN. What happened in Minnesota can happen across the entire country. Now is the decisive moment. …